


Lost In Japan Vol. 2: Black Feathered Machines

by EmptyBlu3



Category: Black Swan (2010), Mr. Robot (TV)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Broken Families, Consent, Coping, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dealing With Loss, F/M, Finding Peace, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Inspired by TV & Movies, Manipulative mother-daughter relationship, May contain mature language, Mild Sexual Content, Not A Fix-It, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Recreational Drug Use, Self-Destruction, Shady Characters, Society's end, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Watching The World Burn, all characters are 18+, finding identity, modern day AU, toxic parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:46:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24696238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmptyBlu3/pseuds/EmptyBlu3
Summary: Perfection is Nina's dream, a world without a toxic organization and peace is Elliot's. Can they make their respective dream a reality or will they fall into madness?
Relationships: Elliot Alderson/Nina Sayers
Kudos: 5





	1. Curtain Call

In the aftermath of her performance in Swan Lake, Nina is in a hospital bed recovering from a self-inflicted stab wound to the stomach. Lily and three other dancers were surrounding her, trying to see if their friend had recovered. “She’s waking up...she’s ok...Thank god.” Lily gasped in excitement as her best friend slowly opened her tired eyes. “Where am I? Why are all of these tubes in my arm?” Nina mumbled as she grabbed her IV and the blankets covering her. “You’re in the hospital, Nina, you’re recovering from surgery. You were stabbed with a shard of glass, the antithetic is still in your system.” Lily responded as she diverted Nina’s hands away from the tubes coming out of her arm. “It’s alright. The nurse said you’ll be discharged in a couple of days. He just needs to run some tests to make sure you’re responding to the antibiotics ok.” Nina was silent as her fingers grazed over her scar, memories of the previous evening started pouring in. “Was I perfect?.” She asked, her innocent eyes wide open. Lily suddenly becomes ghostly pale. “You were phenomenal.” she smiled, holding back tears. “I was perfect...for once I was perfect,” Nina muttered under her breath, falling back asleep.

The next day, Nina was on the verge feeling better when her mother, Erica came into the hospital lobby demanding to see her daughter with a news crew following behind her. The staff quickly became overwhelmed, making it easier to intrude on the small hospital room belonging to a still-recovering Nina. By the time the police are called to break up the large crowd, Erica makes her way to her daughter’s room with her hands open wide for an embrace. A nurse guided Nina back to her room for safety reasons. Her erratic mother was then escorted off the premises by two police officers. “I have the right to see my child! You can’t keep her from me. The public deserves to know what happened !.” She yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice rang throughout the first floor. The altercation was over as soon as it began. The staff members, patients, and loved ones continued with their routines as if nothing had happened. “Are you alright?” one of the hospital staff noticed Nina cowering in a corner, her shaking hands covering her face. The words escaped her, she starred into oblivion wishing the world would disappear.  
The rest of the day was filled with blood tests, x-rays, and psychiatric evaluations. A barrage of questions surrounding her childhood and her mother ensued. Becoming overwhelmed, Nina excuses herself to get some fresh air. The last words her mother said before being dragged out of the hospital echoed in her head: ‘the public deserves to know what happened !’. “Mom was never that angry about anything before, even when I was a child,” she mumbled to herself. “What did she mean by that?” as she returned to her room, she saw a black-dressed figure asking for directions to see a relative. The person was tall, extremely pale with dark eyes. She looked away out of fear that the person would look back at her unexpectedly. Once the encounter was over, she headed back to her hospital room to answer the doctor’s questions. Later in the day, some of the ballerinas from the New York Ballet Company came to visit. The majority of them were in tears once they laid eyes on her. They were all thankful that she was recovering well. Lily managed to get through the crowd of unfamiliar faces to see her friend. “I was the only one who knew what hospital you were staying in so everyone came with me.” she had a beaming smile on her face as she gave Nina a hug. “Thank you, all of you. I wasn’t expecting this at all...I appreciate you guys coming out to see me.” Nina managed to say through her tears of gratitude. “I just hope I can return the favor someday.” All of the ballerinas joined Lily in a snuggly group hug when a doctor came in with discharge papers and a prescription for strong pain-killers and antibiotics to pick up at the pharmacy. She knocked on the doorway to break up the commotion. “Excuse me, Miss Sayer, may I have your signature, please?.” she asked, handing the clipboard to Nina. “Yes, where can I find the pharmacy?.” she replied as the doctor gave her directions to the pharmacy upstairs. Nina gave her fellow ballerinas goodbye hugs, except for Lily, who offered to spend the day with her. 

As they dispersed, both Nina and Lily headed to the cafeteria before making their way upstairs. “This pizza is amazing, I didn’t know they had such good food here. We should come here more often.” Lily joked as she ate her slice of cheese pizza. Nina chuckled as a pepperoni slice was on the verge of slipping off of her pizza. “Nina? Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?.” Lily asked with a concerned tone in her voice. Nina looked up, her eyes glinting in the light. She slowly put down her food, almost afraid to answer. “S-sure, you can ask...I don’t mind.” Lily placed her hands on top of Nina’s. “Are you okay?. Have you ever felt pressured or hurt by anyone for any reason?” Nina froze, her hands were shaking. “I’m fine, really. I haven’t felt pressured or hurt by anyone; don’t worry.” She returned to eating the rest of her pizza at a faster pace than usual. Lily withdrew her hands after that. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I was worried when you asked me if you were ‘perfect’. At first, I thought it was the performance, but now I think it stemmed from something deeper than that. I just wanted to make sure you were ok.” There was a long silence between them as Nina left the table and headed to the pharmacy. Lily started to follow when Nina stopped her. “I think it would be best if I went alone. I have to head home soon, my mother must be worried sick,” she stated before hugging Lily goodbye. Lily understood and hugged her back in return. Lily looked away fighting back tears as her friend walked off. “Please be ok, Nina...Please.” she murmured.

On her way to the train station, Nina felt light-headed and nauseous. She was still feeling the effects of the drugs. Her phone wouldn’t stop ringing so she answered it. “Hi, mom. I’m- She was cut off by her mother as she screamed into the phone: “Don’t you dare say hi to me! I have been scared out of my mind all-day only to find you in a hospital bed surrounded by strangers. Do you have any idea how that makes me look? Well, do you?” Erica continued to rant into the phone, leaving her daughter’s ears ringing. “Don’t even think about coming home!” She yelled, “I am too upset to even look at you.” Erica then hung up the phone, leaving her daughter speechless and in tears. “I hate it when you’re home anyway. You never notice or care about me unless I’m on stage.” Nina sobbed as she dialed Lily’s number. “Hey Lily, it’s me. I’m really sorry to bother you right now. Is it okay if I stay with you for a couple of days? My mother is a bit irate right now.” Lily answered, “Yeah, of course, you can stay for as long as you want. Where are you right now, I can pick you up from there.” Nina cleared her throat, “I’m across the street from the subway. I can wait inside the Starbucks behind me if that’s okay with you.” She could hear her friend’s car keys rattling in the background. “Yes that’s fine, I’m on my way to you now.” Lily hung up. Nina went inside the Starbucks and ordered a simple coffee with milk, hoping no one would recognize her. She immersed herself in her phone to keep busy until Lily came to pick her up. “At least, I blend in with the crowd here. I’m just like anyone else. No one to notice my mistakes or put me down. Here, I feel safe.” Nina thought to herself as she sipped her hot coffee. 

An hour passed before she saw a familiar face, it was the man from the hospital, only he wasn’t wearing all black like before. He wearing a powder-blue dress shirt with short-sleeves with matching black shoes and pants. He was ordering a Ham & Cheese Croissant along with the orders from his co-workers. “That’s the guy from the hospital, he must’ve changed clothes.” Nina thought as she continued to observe the dark-haired man. As she left her table to approach him, Lily had stepped in front of her with her arms splayed for an embrace. “L-Lily, Nina blurted, I didn’t know you would come so quickly.” Lily then gave the small woman a bear hug. “You sounded like you were crying on the phone so I was really worried. I’m glad you’re ok.” Lily smiled as she let go and moved some loose strands of hair out of Nina’s face. Her eyes focused on the mysterious man. “Nina? Are you okay? Is everything alright?” Lily asked hazel eyes widened with concern. “I’m fine, it’s just been a long day.” Nina’s voice quivered as she and Lily walked out of the cafe. The man soon vanished as Nina turned around to catch a glimpse of him.


	2. Society's Ghosts

“Elliot!, where have you been?. I’ve been calling you all day. I couldn’t get a hold of you.” Darlene demanded while stapling flyers to a light pole. “The attack on All Safe had damaged most of its servers so I had to stay behind to save them.” Elliot answered, “The company hasn’t been the same since the first hack Darlene. Everyone has been on edge lately like the world is on fire.” His sister had a devious smirk on her face, “Good. It means we’re winning. E-Corp and their accomplices realized it's impossible to hide behind their corporate bullshit to save face and keep their investors happy.” She laughed. 

Even in childhood, Elliot remembered how his sister had wanted to watch the world burn. It frightened him at first, but now, he tolerates it for his own sake. “You don’t have to be their puppet anymore, Elliot. You don’t have to play their rules, you can lead us to a better future. When E-corp is gone, the world will be better off.” Darlene’s voice was calmer as she went to hug her silent brother. “Not everything is about tearing the world apart, Darlene. This whole thing is about bringing change to our society.” Elliot remarked as he stepped out of his sister’s reach. “Sometimes the world has to be destroyed before real change can take place,” She smirked, “at least, I’m trying to make this work. At least, I’m not strung out on drugs and hiding from people who aren’t there. I stepped up to be the leader F-society needed.” Darlene spoke through gritted teeth. “You want to be in charge? Fine, live to throw everything in my face? Fine, you do that. Good luck with the fallout.” Elliot scoffed. “I’ll be better prepared than you,” Darlene said angrily as she stomped off.

The leadership of F-society always resulted in tension and resentment between the pair. It was the reason why they weren’t as close. Even though the role originally belonged to Elliot, Darlene had taken over the movement in recent months, hoping it would motivate her brother to be more active, however, it backfired. Instead, the man became an observer instead. He had hoped that his sister would play it safe while trying to take down a multi-million dollar company. But, knowing how sister, it wouldn’t be possible. There were too many eyes on her and F-society to escape any kind of detection from E-Corp or the authorities. Elliot walked back to his apartment, exhausted and frustrated. ”Damn it, Darlene. I know that we wanted to change the world but not like this. Not when lives are at stake.” He muttered.

As he continued to walk home, his phone rang. It was from his ex-girlfriend: Shayla. She had been calling him ever since they had broken up. Usually, he’d let the call go to voicemail, but this time he craved her voice, her comfort, her love. ”Shayla. Hey, it's been a while since the last time we spoke. How are things going with you?” Elliot answered. His greeting fell on deaf ears as he could hear Shayla laughing with someone in the background before the phone hung up. “So much for trying to get my mind off the shit storm I’m in.” He murmured. “Why the hell can’t anything go right? Why does everything have to be at stake?.” 

Out of frustration, Elliot slammed the door of his apartment behind him. He lay on the couch sobbing silently, unsure of what to do now that everything he’s ever known is on the verge of collapse. He slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping things would be better tomorrow. The next morning, he woke up to the screeching of his alarm clock. Elliot groaned, reaching for the snooze button. He eventually got out of bed to get ready for his long day at AllSafe. Every morning started the same way: a meeting with some executives from E-Corp while Gideon tries to convince them to give the company more funds to stay afloat, with the rest of the day becoming a blur of transferring files or debugging equipment. Elliot wasn’t looking forward to the day ahead. It made him sad to see his boss and friend having to beg the higher-ups for a chance they’ll never give him. It was moments like those that would upset him the most since he couldn’t stand seeing the people closest to him suffer like that. He gritted his teeth and walked out the door. “The world will change for you, Gideon. You won’t have to beg those bastards for anything anymore.” He said before texting Darlene. It read: "Time to hit them where it hurts. Ready?". Darlene text back: "Where and when?." "AllSafe @ midnight," Elliot responded.


	3. Nightmare

The stage is set, the dancers are in place, ready to perform. The orchestra begins to play and there’s a hushed silence over the crowd of patrons. Nina in her Swan Queen costume dances across the stage, captivating the audience. As she spins, leaps and flies, her arms slowly turns into a pair of jet black wings. The crowd bursts applause, screaming for an encore. She bows to the audience but as her back straightens, a pool of blood gathers around her. The frightened ballerina screams for help from the audience but they’ve turned into skeletons. Unsure of what to do, she reaches out Lily, her trusted friend. “Lily help me, please!. I can’t move and there’s blood everywhere. Help me!” Nina desperately screams as her friend reaches out to take her hand. 

Suddenly, she wakes up in shock. “What is this place? Where am I? Where’s Lily?!” Nina muttered to herself as she looks for her friend. “L-lily? are you there?” the small woman called out. “Nina?. I’m here. Don’t worry. You’re in my apartment.” Lily answered, embracing Nina, who was still shaking. “I didn’t know where you were. I got scared. When I woke up, you weren’t there….” she sobbed. Lily wrapped her arms around Nina, in hopes of calming her down. “Shh, Its all right. It was just a nightmare. You’re alright. I’m here.” she cooed. Nina held on to Lily for a long time. ”I don't know what to do. I'm scared Lily. I want to be perfect; to be the best.” she continued to cry. ”Nina, you're perfect just the way you are. You are the most dedicated dancer I’ve ever seen.” Lily praised her. ”You work so much harder than anyone else. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” 

“Can we go to the studio, please?. I have to talk to Thomas about coming back as a full-time dancer.” Nina asked with worry in her voice. Lily smiled, “Yeah. Of course, everyone will be happy to see you and I’m sure Vincent would let you come back.”. The two friends had breakfast before heading to the ballet studio. Once they entered the rehearsal room, Nina and Lily were met with hugs, gasps, and envious glares from the other dancers. Nina greeted everyone and apologized for interrupting their practice before asking where the director, Vincent was. Each of them pointed to his office. The echoing, winding hallways leading to it felt familiar but strange at the same time.

Even before she was hospitalized, Nina had never been to her boss’s office before. “Please let me have my job back. I’ve dedicated my entire life to the art of ballet in all of its intricacies. I know that I’ve made mistakes in the past but, I can fix them.” Nina practiced as she approached the office. As she reached for the door, the older man had opened it with a surprised look on his face as if he saw a ghost. “Nina! Hello. How have you been? Are feeling well?.” He smiled and hugged his most prized dancer, his swan. “I’m sorry that wasn’t able to visit you at the hospital. There were some last-minute preparations I had to attend to. It’s so good to see you again.”. Nina nods in return. “Hi, Thomas, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. May we discuss it in your office?.” The young woman asked, gesturing towards the office. “Oh yes. We can discuss anything you’d like.” Thomas led her into his office. “Thank you,” Nina said, “Thomas, I was wondering if I could have my position in the studio back. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday and I’m ready and able to continue dancing for this company.” Nina stated, “I know that my last performance wasn’t the best but, I-” Thomas held up his hand. “Your performance as the Swan Queen was the most spectacular thing that’s happened to this company in years. I saw you transform into something spectacular, saw you dancing across the stage, captivating the audience. Nina, you still are the Swan Queen of the New York City Ballet Company. I’d prefer that you stay with us. Everyone misses you. I miss you.” The director had tears in his eyes, he was begging her to stay. “I’m staying with the company. I won’t lose everything. I can be perfect.” Nina thought. She shook both of Thomas’ hands and answered. “Thank you so much. You won’t be disappointed at all. I can be your Swan Queen.” Nina hugged him tightly. 

Nina skipped back to the rehearsal room to announce her staying with the company when the lights shut off. It was so dark that she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. Thomas walked behind her with two flashlights in his hand. “The city scheduled an outage for tomorrow for maintenance but, why would one happen today?.” he questioned, handing Nina a flashlight. “We should probably get back to the others, make sure everyone’s okay.” she sprinted back down the hallway only to be met with screams from the dancers as people in masks ran amock. “Evening ladies and gentlemen, we are F-society and we’ve come with a message from our leader: E-Corp’s days are numbered. You can no longer depend on their executives to be loyal patrons. You can no longer depend on them to keep your doors open!. By doing so, you’re only proving to be their puppet, ultimately, becoming apart of the problem.” The speaker’s voice was disguised so nobody could if the speaker was a man or woman. “What the hell do you want from us?! How dare you come into my studio, threaten my dancers and my crew! You have absolutely no shame do you?.” Thomas yelled at the masked person. Nina tries to hold the older man back out of fear the masked assailant might have a weapon but, she lost her grip on his shirt. “T-Thomas please don’t do anything brash. We don’t know what they are capable of!” Nina said, her voice trembling. The frightened woman then turned to the masked individual, now holding a gun. “You’re coming with me, your highness.” The masked person took off her cheaply-made mask, it was Darlene. Her eyes were dark, empty, and covered in smudged mascara. “Time to see your adoring public.” She grabbed Nina’s arm, dragging her to the entrance of the building. “Why are you doing this? Where are you taking me?.” Nina demanded. “You’ll find out soon enough,” Darlene answered, smirking as her grip tightened. She then took the butt of her gun and hit Nina in the back of her head, knocking her out cold.

Some time passed before she regained consciousness, Nina woke to the sound of sirens, flashing lights, and camera crews. Her head was throbbing from where Darlene had struck her. She was covered in black feathers on the steps of a ballet museum not too far from the company. Medical personnel surrounded her taking her to an ambulance to treat her head injury. The medics were talking but, she couldn’t hear them. Nina was in and out of consciousness, unable to make sense of anything that was going on. “Why me? Why is this happening to me.” she thought, “I just wanted to be perfect.” 

Amidst the chaos, Darlene hung back in the shadows, admiring her work, admiring the hellscape she created by attacking one of E-Corps associate companies. “One by one, they’ll all fall until they can’t be saved.” The woman sang to herself before walking off to AllSafe to perform the hack with Elliot.


	4. Midnight Run

Elliot was shaking anxiously as he waited for his sister, who was 30 minutes late for the hack. Checking his phone, he could hear his friend, Angela, approach him. “Hey, Elliot. Long time no see. How have you been?” she greeted. Despite the late hour, she was always cheerful and hard-working. “Hey Ang. I’ve been doing fine. It's been a crazy two weeks, with Allsafe being attacked and the mess happening at E-Corp,” Elliot sighed, “I don’t know how Gideon is keeping this company afloat. It’s an absolute mess.” A worried look flashed across Angela’s face, she was on the verge of tears. “I’m leaving AllSafe, Elliot. Phillip Price offered me a job in Risk management. The pay is better, the office space is great and the hours are more flexible. I just don’t know how to tell Gideon.” She cried. Elliot wrapped his arms around his friend, hoping it would calm her down. “I’m sure Gideon would understand; Its probably for the best. Risk management is what the company needs right now. You’ll do great just like always.” Elliot encouraged as he wiped the last few tears from his friend’s eye.

His phone vibrated in his back pocket, he was surprised about the unideal timing. “I have faith in you, Angela. You got this for sure.” he boasted as he excused himself. It was a text from Darlene, it read: “Screw the hack on AllSafe. I have something bigger planned. Meet me @ Ron’s Coffeeshop.” Elliot was furious. Here he was planning out the hack of a lifetime and his impulsive sister decides to throw a wrench into the operation. He suspected her of just stringing along out of spite or wanted him to be the fall guy all this time. He looked back at Angela, her blonde hair was covering her face. He wished he could stay with her, give her a cup of much-needed coffee, maybe let her stay at his place until she felt better. Elliot said goodbye and left for the coffee shop. Once there, he met with his sister, Romero, Mobley, and Trenton.

They were all sitting around a laptop with devious smirks on their faces. “Hey, guys, what’s going on? What’s with the serious faces?.” The dark-dressed man asked, trying to hide to his seething anger towards Darlene. “We’re planning a hack on the FBI, E-corp along with its associate companies. Right now, we’re working out the details, assembling teams, and trying to get someone on the inside to help us. I was thinking about using Angela for the hack on the FBI. She might be useful to us.” Darlene smiled as she mentioned Elliot’s friend. She knew that her brother didn’t want to involve Angela in any of this. “What do you think Elliot? Is that a good move or not?” Darlene said sarcastically. “Angela isn’t getting involved in this. Forget about hacking the FBI, it would be safer to focus on damaging Evil corp’s reputation by creating a rift between the company and its associates. Then, the public’s faith will fade.” Elliot directed. “Okay now that’s established, we can send out teams to each of the associate companies and erase their clients’ data,” Darlene stated. “All of this planning sounds well and good but, there’s a slight hitch that none of us are talking about. We still have to deal with the Dark Army. They’ve been following our activity recently and it’s been brought to my attention that we might be under surveillance.” Trenton glanced from Darlene’s laptop “At this rate, we could become the most wanted group of hackers in the US or end up on some watchlist. Either way, moving forward with this could have more risks than rewards.” The university student took a sip of her coffee. Mobley chimed in: “As long as we take precautions such as staying anonymous, adding some changes to our routines or limiting contact with others online. By making these changes, it can help us stay undetectable.” 

Romero would usually have some witty comeback by tonight he stayed quiet, which wasn’t like him. “There will always be risks, no matter what we do. We wanted   
to change the world by erasing the source of its corruption off the face of the earth so risks come with it.” Darlene dismissed, “We can do this. We’re going to be fine, I’ll talk to my contact with the Dark Army to resolve this. Who knows, they could be congratulating us.” Mobley, Trenton, and Elliot looked at each other. They didn’t mind Darlene’s confidence or her speaking her mind but, sometimes she would be cocky, arrogant even. “I hope you’re right about that. The Dark Army isn’t something to joke about Darlene. They have more power, resources, and better hackers. Rumor has it, they’ve been spotted across the US and China but, no one has lived long enough to confirm it. As far as the feds are concerned, they’re ghosts.” Elliot muttered. He was afraid to cross paths with them, knowing what they were capable of. He hoped that Darlene and the others would stay safe, the last thing he’d want is to have their blood on his hands.


	5. A Queen Without a Throne

Nina woke up to the sound of news anchors: “In other news, the f-society movement has gained momentum in a few short weeks since its conception last month. The authorities have been keeping a close eye on the domestic terrorist group for some time now, but no arrests have been made.” The anchor started to talk about the weather when she saw her mother, Erica, sitting in the chair adjacent to her. The older woman was red-faced and shaking; angered by something but her daughter didn’t dare to ask what. 

The young woman silently turned away from the noise of the monitor and closed her eyes. “Please go away. I want the world to go away!.” She thought, “Leave me alone.” Suddenly, she felt her mother grabbing her hair. “We’re leaving the city tonight. Get dressed and make sure you have all of your belongings with you. I know you can hear me Nina so you might as well get out of bed now.” Erica ordered. “I’m not running away because you’re scared. I have my life, career, and friends here. I’m not throwing that away for you.” Nina sat up, looking into her mother’s soulless eyes. Erica then slapped her daughter across her face. “You ingrate. How dare you defy me! I am your mother and you will do as I say! Do you understand me?!.” She yelled. The entire first floor of the hospital could hear, it’s not as if she cared anyway. 

Nina pushed her mother away, still feeling the sting of her slap. “You don’t control me anymore. I’m not living to meet your expectations anymore. For years, all you ever cared about was getting what you wanted. Did you ever consider what I wanted or needed? No, you just wanted me to be your perfect little swan!.” Nina shouted back. She knew defying her mother was forbidden but, she didn’t care. She had enough. “I just wanted to be enough for you to love me. I’m leaving the ballet company and starting over without you.” Erica stared at her daughter in disgust. “You’ll never make it in this world without me. You’ll fail and come crawling back to me, assuming none of those criminals doesn’t kill you first.” the older woman spat before leaving the hospital. 

Lily knocked on the doorway to her friend’s room with a basket in one hand and a glass bottle in the other. “Hey,” the dark-haired woman said softly. “I heard some argument going on from the waiting room. I wasn’t sure if it would be safe for me to come in or not. But, I did get you a get-well-soon gift basket. Hope it will help.” She placed the champagne bottle and the flower basket on the bedside table. “Everyone else would’ve come to visit too, but we were being questioned by the police after the ambulance picked you up. The press only made things by chasing the staff and the dancers of the NYC Ballet Company down for comment or their take on what happened last night. It’s been a mess.” Lily placed her hand across her forehead, flipping some of her hair in the process. “I’ve been thinking about moving back to San Francisco, maybe dancing for another company there. I don’t know if it will work out but it's better than staying in the city.” Nina cleared her throat. “Thanks for the gifts Lily, I didn’t know things had gotten that bad. My mother...she just left. She was talking about leaving the city for safety reasons but, I wanted to stay in New York because my life is here.” Nina spoke softly, almost whispering.

She got out of bed to stand. “I just want things to be normal again without worrying about someone trying to kill me or the people around me. I don’t know what to do anymore. Everything is falling apart and I don’t know how to fix it.” She sighed and looked at Lily. “If you are leaving for San Francisco, make sure to be careful. I wish you the best of luck.” she was fighting back tears when Lily pulled her closer. “You can come with me, you know. It’ll be safer for both of us. We’ll be away from the press, the company, everything. I can give you a tour of my city, it’ll be fun.” Lily said. Nina embraced her friend and looked her in the eyes. “Thank you for the offer but I want to stay here in New York. I’ll find a place soon.” Lily looked at her with sad eyes as she pulled away. “Okay, you can stay at my place until then. I’ll even help you.” She nodded and gathered Nina’s clothes. “Are you going to need help with your clothes?” the woman asked. Nina shook her head. “In that case, I’ll go to the cafeteria and get us something to eat, and then we can head back home. Okay?” Nina nodded and gathered her things. She looked forward to spending time with Lily while she still could. At least, it would give her time to plan her next move.


	6. Restart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina decides to cut ties with the NYC Ballet Company and leave her reputation as the Swan Queen behind as she starts her new life and career at E-Corp to find some peace. There, she meets the vigilante hacker, Elliot Alderson, who is planning the ultimate hack to infiltrate Steel Mountain; the company's last lifeline. With the help of F-Society, Elliot hopes to succeed but at what costs...

Nina walked into E-Corp with hopeful eyes as she was given a tour of the company’s risk management department. She was excited to start her new job and meet new people. “Here is your office. Oh, and before I forget, here is your access card. You must keep track of it. This is your lifeline to E-Corp. Without your card, you won’t be able to login to your monitor or do your job effectively.” Angela instructed as she handed the card to the young brunette. “I’ll make sure to keep it with me at all times.” Nina nodded as she continued to follow the blonde woman throughout the office, greeting her new co-workers along the way. Once the tour was over, the work began. With Angela’s help, Nina was able to be the assistant she needed. The two women continued with the regular day to day operations. 

As the day dragged on, Nina caught a glimpse of the news from the TV in the lobby. She saw clips of the masked protestors, she heard their cries for justice, their wishes for E-Corp’s destruction or removal of the executives that run it. “Why must everyone be so angry? It doesn’t help anyone nor does it solve the problem; it only makes things worse.” she shakes her head, wondering how people can become so hideous to one another. “Sometimes, things aren’t so simple. Open dialogue would be nice, but, people just want to see the world burn just for the hell of it. They don’t care whose lives are ruined in the process.” A voice answered. She turned to see who it belonged to. It was a slightly muscular man, not that much older than she was from the looks of him. He was wearing dark-colored business attire with a pair of blacked-out converse sneakers. “It’s crazy out there you know. People can be so cruel and evil.” The stranger remarked, taking a sip of his coffee. His dark-eyes connect with Nina’s lighter ones. “I’m Elliot by the way. I work with IT downstairs and make sure the servers are running smoothly.” The man said, offering the assistant his hand. “Nina. It’s nice to meet you, Elliot.” she reached for his hand to give him a proper handshake. The two co-workers continued to watch the chaotic imagery flashing across the screen, half in disbelief and half apathetic.

There was a long pause between them before the former ballerina broke the silence between them. “So, Elliot, how long have been working for E-Corp?” Nina asked. “I haven’t worked here for very long. I was just transferred to E-Corp from AllSafe a couple of weeks ago.” Elliot answered, his voice broken. “I guess the two of us are in the same boat. We’re both new here and starting from the bottom.” He managed to chuckle a bit. Nina smiled, “I guess you’re right. She remarked, ``This is my first day in a new job...meeting people and working with a new boss.” she paused, lost in thought. “It’s all...nice.” Elliot nodded in response, taking a huge gulp of his coffee. “Angela is a good boss to work for. Everyone here gets along pretty well and there isn’t any toxicity or over competitiveness. Another perk is that new employees get a free latte from the cafe downstairs. This a great place to work.” Elliot remarked. He tried to pull off a smile to make his new co-worker feel comfortable. Nina smiled before being called away by Angela. “Well, it was nice meeting you Elliot, see you around.” She hurried away from the hacker. “Yeah. It was nice to meet you too.” Elliot waved goodbye, keeping his manufactured smile on his face. “I’m sorry…” he muttered with regret as he remembered why he transferred to E-Corp in the first place. He wanted to be closer to Steel Mountain’s servers, destroying the company from the inside out. “Hope to see you again, Nina,” he said quietly. “ I hope I don’t regret this.” 

Elliot then sneaked off to the server room to initiate a hack. He reached for his phone to get some guidance from Darlene, however, her phone went to voicemail. Ever since the incident at the ballet studio and the dark army showing up on the FBI’s radar, she’s been missing in action for the past few days. “Shit, he hissed under his breath. “Where are you, Darlene?. Now’s not the time to disappear.” The hacker continued to the server room, where he found his laptop hidden underneath one of the shelves then connects the cables to the servers and proceeded to open the digital backdoor he created a few days earlier. As the clicking of his keys continued, he felt an adrenaline rush. He enjoyed playing god with each stroke, knowing he the amount of power he had over everyone else. This made him feel like he mattered; powerful even. Beads of sweat started to form around his face as a new line of code is displayed on the screen. Each command, operation, and pathway forged, he gained new information on Steel mountain as well as its security protocols and infrastructure. “Here we are, I just need to get access to their security cameras, records, and staff IDs.” the man whispered. After downloading the files and data he needed, he sent copies to the rest of the F-society team to keep everyone in the loop. His laptop was put back into its secret compartment and Elliot continued with his mundane routine. He remembered the smile on Nina's face, the employees from AllSafe that couldn't be transferred to E-Corp, and those who had to be let go. His dark eyes began to tear up at the thought that he could single-handedly ruin their lives with a few keystrokes. "It's for the best...I'm doing this to save the world." His voice cracked as he walked back to the main office for a maintenance call.


	7. Madness In The Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliot faces a difficult truth as he witnesses the destruction he had caused as E-Corp is on the verge of collapse. Accompanied by Nina, Angela, and the rest of his co-workers, he seeks refuge on the executive floor only to be faced with a new terrifying threat: Whiterose.

Roaming from floor to floor, cubicle to cubicle, Elliot could feel the tension in the air. The news coverage of the protests continued to play in the background as they worked. He could see the shocked and wide-eyed expressions on each of his coworkers’ faces. The police with the help of E-Corp’s security team was keeping the protesters under control but, everyone knew it was a matter of time before they would become overwhelmed. “Focus Elliot! Focus!. Steel Mountain is almost incapacitated. The malware I’ve installed is eating through their security systems as we speak. The employees are being evacuated as apart of their emergency protocols.” The nervous hacker mumbled to himself as he wiped the sweat from his palms on his jeans. 

Elliot looked at the protesters outside. Some were fighting the police, some were throwing tear gas and smoke grenades. “This is what democracy looks like!.” they shouted angrily; breaking through the line of security and police; storming E-Corp. Alarms begin to sound when the panic starts. Violence, chaos, and bloodshed ensued. Bullets fly in every direction, people screaming in agony around him, the sound of rage-filled shouting consumed the room. Everyone was making a beeline towards the elevators to escape the angry mob. 

He felt a hand pull him into the elevator. “Are you alright, Elliot? You’re not hurt are you?.” Nina asked frantically, her hands firmly grasping the young man’s upper arm. The young man was shocked at her strength. “I-I’m fine. Thanks, Nina. Where are we headed?” He asked. “We’re headed to the executive floors. It is supposed to be safer than the lobby. Mr. Wellick instructed everyone to be evacuated there immediately.” Nina blurted as the elevator began to jolt upward. There was some muttering among co-workers but, it was nothing to be concerned about. They didn’t suspect Elliot of anything and they were just as afraid as everyone else. 

He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing; he knew that he had a hand in the chaos leading up to the protests and the 5/9 hack because of F-society but he didn’t expect the impact of the economic collapse to be so great. He only wanted to save the world, not destroy it. “Hopefully someone can explain what’s happening. Maybe one of the executives can help us; assuming there is an executive that’s still here.” Angela added. “Fingers crossed,” Elliot said. Once the elevator doors opened, the confused and frightened employees were greeted by the faint smile of Tyrell Wellick, who had a gun pointed to his temple. “ Everyone? May I have your attention, please? I have an important announcement to make.” his voice cracked slightly. “Today, we shall ascend into paradise. Today, we’ll never have to be afraid ever again. The worst of this disaster is behind us...Starting today, E-Corp is under new leadership.” Tyrell continues. “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce all of you to the new CTO of E-Corp: Whiterose.” The former CTO wept before a bullet entered his temple to the astonishment and horror of the crowd. A woman in a white formal gown with a black ribbon across her waist. “Hello everyone and welcome to the future.” The beautiful woman said. “ I look forward to working with all of you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm EmptyBlu3 and thank you for reading my fic, it's appreciated greatly, let me know what was your favorite part and what you might want to see in the future. Don't forget to leave a kudos, comment, and share this fic to family or friends. You can also leave me feedback or updates through my Tumblr: @empty-blue


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